Always ask for examples of work, and perhaps share with us here. There are a few people on here that really know their stuff in regards to seo and other stuff beyond just a good looking site.

I know for a fact that website pricing is a lot like lawn care pricing. Their are going to be people that claim they can produce a site for $299-1000, Just as some will mow a lawn for $20 that I have gotten $45 for 3 years in a row. Difference is going to be quality, in some form or another.

I need to get a website built, I really don't have too much time to play with it myself. What should I look for in a company that can do it? Any recommendations on companies you have worked with?

Thanks.

Check out 1and1.com they do everything from registering your domain name, hosting your domain name, creating emails with your website name at the end, to building your website template. I have been with them for at least 5yrs and havent had any problem, rates are competitive. I tried designing my own website with dreamweaver but ended up using a template from 1and1.com. Its real easy to make your site from a template and publish it. Also if you go with their email, you can download mozilla thunderbird or outlook and have it right on your desktop, and you can set it up on your smartphone too.

Check out 1and1.com they do everything from registering your domain name, hosting your domain name, creating emails with your website name at the end, to building your website template. I have been with them for at least 5yrs and havent had any problem, rates are competitive. I tried designing my own website with dreamweaver but ended up using a template from 1and1.com. Its real easy to make your site from a template and publish it. Also if you go with their email, you can download mozilla thunderbird or outlook and have it right on your desktop, and you can set it up on your smartphone too.

I also use 1&1, and have been for 6+/- years. Highly recommend them if you decide to build it yourself.

As Dave recommends, ask for current examples of their work. Lately I've reviewed a couple of sites for people on here that were built using 10 year old code and antiquated SEO methods. One landscaper-focused web design company's entire portfolio I just reviewed is 9 years or so old and looks like it.

If you can budget to work one-on-one with a developer, and not a mass-producing hosting company, I highly recommend doing so. The biggest difference is SEO (search engine optimization) that is specifically tailored to your needs and target market. This is something you tend not to find with any of the large web mills.

If you have any specific companies/firms you're looking at, feel free to post them here, or pm, and we'll gladly give a deeper review of the actual under-the-hood workings of their product.

Absolutely do your research before committing $$$....look at other websites relating to your industry/services to get a feel of a design that would fit your brand.
There are great choices out there, but on the flip-side there are also those that are just in it to make a quick buck.....good luck!

Take your time choosing. Also you don't get what you don't pay for, and when it comes to setting up your website, there are alot of little things you can do to help pay off big in the SEO side. Trust me, we did ours this winter, and went from no where to second page and first page in some keywords.

If you have any questions, let me know. I know the guys that I worked with on our site do sites for all over the US and Canada.

there are alot of little things you can do to help pay off big in the SEO side. Trust me, we did ours this winter, and went from no where to second page and first page in some keywords.

Check out our site if you want to see...

Looks great. As a suggestion, you could probably do better if they addressed the lack of some basic seo elements on your home page. The lack of content, which is not the absolute worst thing in the world, can be overcome by reworking the graphical text headings on your images as H tag overlays, alt tags for your images, and tweaked from there.